Page 119 of Kingly Bitten

Any other vampire of our standing would want to know how that was going.

If anything, just to determine the potential for political gain or a territory acquisition should the royal fail in his task.

But not Lajos.

No, he wanted to talk about Calina.

“As I never knew Silvano well, I can’t say,” Darius replied. “But I am curious what will happen to his territory beneath Ryder’s rule.”

Another attempt at deflection.

One Lajos allowed for a brief moment as he commented on Ryder’s inability to lead anyone other than himself. “I believe Lilith has already learned that lesson,” he concluded, causing the hairs along the back of my neck to stand on end.

He knows, I decided.

But I wasn’t given a chance to react to it because our real drink arrived in the next minute in the form of a female with tangled brown hair.

“Ah, time to improve the wine,” Darius said in a smooth manner that suggested he hadn’t heard Lajos’s last comment. But I knew better. He’d not only heard it; he was evaluating it.

Just like me.

Just like Calina.

Although, the tray of sharp instruments landing on the table distracted her almost immediately. They were tools meant to remove body parts.

And the human had carried them to her own death.

Shh,I hushed into Calina’s mind, calming her before she could outwardly react.

This is so wrong.

It’s life.

It’swrong,she bit back.

I released a mental sigh and pushed thoughts of the future to her. Ones filled with my plans and ideas and the ways I intended to make them work. I’d sensed her reviewing those details earlier, and I’d noted the semblance of peace it had brought her.

Fortunately, that worked again now as the human situated herself on the table beside the cutlery.

Thank you,she whispered back to me.

Lean on me, Calina. Always.The words came naturally to me, followed by a brief warmth in my chest as I returned to Jasmine’s diatribe about her human deficiency problem.

It seemed she was finally getting to her point—her need for more warm bodies.

The whole situation confirmed what I already knew about Jasmine: she was not fit to lead.

“Hmm, no, that’s not really to my taste right now,” Lajos was saying behind me. “I feel I’m much more interested in Jace’s new pet. Perhaps she could sweeten my wine instead?”

Calina stopped breathing as Lajos started fondling one of the knives on the table. His opposite hand ventured upward again, his finger boldly stroking the scrap of fabric between her thighs. She fought not to outwardly react as he cupped her, but the wrongness of the act sang through our bond.

And it wasn’t just Calina protesting the sensation, butme.

Mine.

“I believe Prince Jace intends for her to be enjoyed as a private dessert later, not as an appetizer,” Darius said, his tone edging on cool.

It wasn’t nearly murderous enough, in my opinion. However, it held the necessary warning to it. Also, his use of my title and name was purposeful. He wanted to make sure I’d heard him and recognized what was happening.